Adjustable ripper tip

ABSTRACT

A ripper in which the ground engaging tip can be advanced in its holder to accommodate for wear of the ripper tip. The tip may be advanced manually or hydraulically depending on the mechanism used and is held in place by friction and/or a pinning means.

[151 3,659,654 [4 1 May 2,1972

References Cited [54] ADJUSTABLE RIPPER TIP UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1916 Becker........................ Eastwood.

[72] Inventors: James M. Davies,, Orinda, Caiif.; Larry G.

Hackmann, Peoria, 111.; Robert A. Peterson, San Leandro, Caiif.; Roger M. Smith; 1,208,267

Leon A. Wirt, both of Joiiet, 111. 3,203,488 8/1965 [73] Assignee: Caterpillar Tractor Co., Peoria, lll. 2993285 [22] Filed: Apr. 10, 1970 Primary Examiner-Robert E. Puifrey Assistant Examiner-Stephen C. Peiiegrino [2i] App]. No.:

Attorney-Fryer, Tjensvold, Feix, Phillips & Lempio Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 686,501, Nov. 29, 1967, Pat. No.

A ripper in which the ground engaging tip can be advanced in its holder to accommodate for wear of the ripper tip. The tip y depending on the by friction and/or a d .me mu 3.1. ND. v.n i r n .Wfh as mi m ma 0 m. nmm a a m a.mm P. g .m.m v.cn .m mmP 20 7 4 M3 M5 b fi 9 7 6 3 7A I973 D s w 1 9 6w n 4 2M1 n .w "3 In "um L mi 0 new k UhF 1]] 2 8 555 [[i.

3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures Patented May 2, 1972 3559,654-

4 Shams-Sheet 1 JAMES M. DAVIS LARRY G. HACKM ROBERT A. PETER ROGER M. SMITH I J M LEON A. WIRT 9 5 a my-5% jZ-ZQ- 1% I Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,654

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 63 6| JAMES M. DAVIES LARRY s. HACKMAN ROBERT A. PETERSON ROGER M. SMITH LEON A. WIRT t. R 1 -E- 4 mia zamdu 4 Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,654

grwe/wto'm JAMES M. DAVIES E15 E LARRY c. HACKMAN ROBERT A. PETERSON ROGER M. SMlTH LEON A. WIRT ADJUSTABLE RIPPER TIP This is a Divisional Application of co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 686,501 of James M. Davies, et al., filed Nov. 29, 1967 for Adjustable Ripper Tip, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,691.

This invention relates to new improved rippers with adjustable tips and, more particularly, to rippers with hardened, tough, wear resistant tips that can be mechanically or hydraulically advanced downwardly exposing a new tip point after normal wear has occurred. The invention also relates to the manner in which the tips are retained to the shank and discloses various configurations of tip points.

Although it is possible that earth ripping operations may appear to be primitive compared to some more recent developments in earthmoving, many changes have occurred in the past few years due to new knowledge of materials, tests for ripability, ripping equipment, and methods of handling ripper tractors to make the most of their efficiency. These advances in the art all point up the desirability of ripping tougher materials, thereby placing the ripper components under extremely high stresses and wear. The typical wedged-shaped, telescopically titted ripper tip generally has a greatly reduced life when used to rip the tougher material.

In an attempt to increase the life of the ripper and to improve its operational economy, it has been found that the tip may be advanced as wear erodes it, exposing a new point, after the initial point has been worn away, by either manual or hydraulic means. Since the advanceable point can be of nearly any desired cross section such as rectangular, square, or round, materials may be used which were not economically feasible before,

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved ripper tip with a greatly increased life expectancy.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a ripper tip which, upon wear through usage, may be advanced so as to present a new tip towards the material being ripped.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a ripper tip Which is economical in manufacture and maintenance and which may be easily adjusted in the field.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ripper tip which is held in a shank by means of a pin.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a ripper tip which is held on the shank by friction.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ripper tip which is hydraulically actuated to present a new tip toward the work surface.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a ripper tip which may be used nearly in its entirety due to the use of spacer members behind the tip in the shank.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon perusal of the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention as depicted in the drawings which are intended to illustrate but not to restrict the scope of the invention.

Other embodiments or equivalents of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a side view, partly in section, of a mechanical feed-through ripper tip which is held in place by means of a pin extending through concentric holes in the shank and ripper tip;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 to show the structural relationship of the ripper tip, the shank, and a protector;

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 show side views, partly in section, of alternate embodiments of the improved ripper tip and methods of holding the tips to the shank;

FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are sectional views taken along lines VI VI, VII--VII, and VIII-VIII of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, respectively;

FIG. 9 is a view taken along line IXIX of FIG. 5 so as to show another detail of the manner of holding the ripper tip to the shank in the embodiment of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the new ripper tip, illustrating in section the hydraulic means for advancing the tip through the shank.

Now referring to the drawings in more detail, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a mechanical feed-through ripper tip comprised of a shank 21 which has welded at its lower end an elongate rectangular-shaped adapter 23 which forms the downward projecting nose for the ripper shank. A feedthrough tip 25 of round cross section is inserted in an aperture 27 on a longitudinal center line of the adapter 23. The adapter 23 has machined therein coaxial pairs of holes 29, 31, 33, and 35 which extend from the periphery of the adapter to opposite sides of the aperture 27.

Ripper tip 25 has machined thereinholes 37 and 39 which are machined on parallel lines transverse to the axis of tip 25.

In the initial position of tip 25, holes 29 and 37 are positioned so as to be coaxial and a pin 41 is inserted therethrough. Pin 41, which may be of a tapered, press fit, or other suitable type of holding means, serves to hold the tip to the adapter by maintaining holes 29 and 37 in their coaxial relationship. When the tip becomes worn, the pin 41 may be removed and the tip moved forward in the adapter so that hole 39 becomes coaxial with hole 31. Pin 41 is then inserted into these coaxial holes and thereby holds the tip in the newly adjusted position. As the tip becomes worn still further, hole 37 may be brought into a coaxial relationship with hole 31 and the pin inserted in this pair of holes. A similar relationship may be brought about between the tip and the adapter with respect to the holes 33 and 35 as the tip becomes further worn.

A telescopically fitted protector 43 mates with the forward end of the adapter 23 where it is retained by a pin 45 inserted in a pair of holes 47 of the protector and a hole 49 of the adapter. The protector serves to protect the ripper shank from wear.

As shown in FIG. 2, the central section of the pin 45 has a relief portion 51 which is tangent to the periphery of tip 25 when it is inserted into the adapter. Thus pin 45, and protector 43, are positively retained against adapter 23 when tip 25 is fitted within the assembly. The protector 43 is a replaceable member and may be manufactured to be reversible by providing a second pair of holes 53 which may be positioned coaxially with aperture 49 in adapter 23.

Referring nowto FIGS. 3 and 6, a feed-through ripper tip 61 of square cross section is inserted in a mating hole 63 at the lower end of a ripper shank 65. A retaining block 67 is attached to the rear of tip 61 by a tongue and groove connection 69. Three holes 71, 73, and 75 in block 67 are adapted to be selectively mated with any one of a plurality of holes 77, 79, 81, 83, and in the shank 65 and retained thereto by a pin 87 to advance the tip downwardly to accommodate for normal wear of the tip. A U-shaped guard 89 protects the lower forward end of the ripper shank and is retained thereto by a retaining pin 91.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 7, a feed-through tip 101 of round cross section extends through the lower end of a shank 103 and through a protector 105 telescopically wedged on nose 107. The tip is retained in passages 109 in shank 103 and 111 of the protector by a round sliding bar 113 which is secured to the tip by a dovetail connection 115. Adjustment of the tip downwardly is accomplished in the same manner as previously described where a plurality of holes such as 117 in the ripper shank are selectively mated with a plurality of holes such as 119 in the sliding bar 113 and a pin such as 121 extended therethrough.

Now referring to the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 5, 8, and 9, there is shown an improved ripper with adjustable tip comprised of a shank 131 with a wedge-shaped nose 133 against which a rectangular tip 135 is wedged to a surface 137 by a telescopically fitted shank protecting holder 139 which encompasses the nose and the tip. Rearward extensions 141 of wedge-shaped holder 139 on each side of the ripper shank extend to a lateral cross section 143. A U-shaped retainer for the protector is inserted under the cross section 143 with projecting ears 147 engaging a slot 149 in the shank and a slot 152 in the rear surface of tip 135. Two bolts 151 in rear section 143, when tightened, bear against the surface 153 of the U-shaped member 145 wedging the protector 139 onto nose 133 and around tip 135. Thus friction between the tip 135 and bottom surface 137 of nose 133 causes the tip to be held firmly against the nose.

When the projecting portion of tip 135 becomes worn, bolts 151 are loosened so as to allow tip-135 to slide downwardly. A short block 155 is then inserted between the rear-most end of tip 135 and the U-shaped member 145 and bolts 151 are once again tightened. When the newly adjusted portion of the tip becomes worn, block 155 is removed and a new block 157, which is approximately twice the length of block 155, is inserted between U-shaped member 145 and the rear end of tip 135. This removal of shorter blocks and insertion of longer blocks behind tip 135 may be continued until such time as it is necessary to insert a new tip into the assembly. Downward portions (not shown) of rearward extensions 141 may be formed to overlap the spacer block and prevent their loss.

A U-shaped shin guard 161 of symmetrical configuration is installed over the leading edge of the ripper shank immediately above the protector 139 to prevent excessive wear of the shank 131. The shin guard is retained in the shank by a retaining pin 163. I

In each embodiment of the invention previously described, adjustment of the ripper tip can be made only by means of a manual operation. In most cases, this will be highly satisfactory since the tip may be adjusted at any convenient time such as during a normal downtime for maintenance. On the other hand, there will be some instances in which it will be highly desirable to be able to adjust the ripper tip in some automatic manner-for example as by actuation of a lever from a control station. Such an automatic ripper tip adjuster is shown in FIG. 10. Here, ripper tip 221 is abutted by a rod 223 of a piston 225 in a bore 227 of a hydraulically adjustable feed means. The tip extends through a replaceable guiding adapter and protector 229 which is wedged into a conical socket 231 on a leading edge of a ripper shank 233. The head end of bore 227 is closed by a threaded plug 235. Hydraulic fluid, grease, etc., is introduced into chamber 237 through a passage 239.

When the fluid enters the chamber,v piston 225 is advance downwardly within the bore causing ripper tip 221 to extend further through nose adapter 229. A one-way check valve 241 in piston 225 permits any leakage of fluid from chamber 237 past piston 225 to be returned through the valve. Thus the possibility of hydraulic lock of the piston is obviated.

When ripper tip 221 is fully extended and piston 225 is at the bottom of bore 227, plug 235 may be removed by unscrewing it through any suitable means such as bolt head 243. With plug 235 removed, the fluid is removed and abolt or other similar means may be inserted into threaded bore 245 in piston 225. The piston may then be pulled back to the top of bore 227 and a new tip may be inserted and again selectively advanced under the influence of the hydraulic fluid in chamber 237. Obviously if desired, ripper tip 221 could be attached directly to the piston 225 or to its rod 223 by suitable means such as a threaded or dovetail connection.

It is therefore obvious that the applicants have contributed an advancement in the state of the art of earth ripping operations by inventing ripper tips which may be advanced as the tip becomes worn, thereby increasing the life of both the tip and the shank holding it.

We claim:

1. In an earth ripping device, a ripper tip adjustably fixed upon a mounting means, means cooperating with said mounting means and said tip for selectively positioning said tip relative to said mounting means in a plurality of positions along a longitudinal direction of said mounting means whereby said tip may be positioned to extend beyond the leading edge of any other structure of the device regardless of the amount of wear of the leading end of said tip, protector means cooperating with said tip and said mounting means for protection of said mounting means against wear thereof, wherein said mounting means includes a ripper shank and said means for positioning said tip includes a cylinder in said shank, and a piston in said cylinder operative to move said tip in a longitudinal direction to extend the leading end of said tip beyond the leading edges of said shank and said protector means as said tip becomes worn, and means in said shank for providing a flow of fluid into said cylinder to actuate said piston.

2. The device of claim 1 including means in said piston for preventing hydraulic lock in said cylinder and for withdrawing said piston from said cylinder so as to allow replacement of said tip.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said ripper tip is of constant cross section throughout the length thereof. 

1. In an earth ripping device, a ripper tip adjustably fixed upon a mounting means, means cooperating with said mounting means and said tip for selectively positioning said tip relative to said mounting means in a plurality of positions along a longitudinal direction of said mounting means whereby said tip may be positioned to extend beyond the leading edge of any other structure of the device regardless of the amount of wear of the leading end of said tip, protector means cooperating with said tip and said mounting means for protection of said mounting means against wear thereof, wherein said mounting means includes a ripper shank and said means for positioning said tip includes a cylinder in said shank, and a piston in said cylinder operative to move said tip in a longitudinal direction to extend the leading end of said tip beyond the leading edges of said shank and said protector means as said tip becomes worn, and means in said shank for providing a flow of fluid into said cylinder to actuate said piston.
 2. The device of claim 1 including means in said piston for preventing hydraulic lock in said cylinder and for withdrawing said piston from said cylinder so as to allow replacement of said tip.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein said ripper tip is of constant cross section throughout the length thereof. 